CHARLOTTE, N.C. — We’ve all seen Kemba Walker’s game-winning shot.
His team depending on him, the raucous crowd chanting for victory. The ball in his hands and just seconds left on the clock in an isolation situation on the right side of the arc. A hesitation dribble with his right hand and a pull back to his left. His right shoulder down, a hard dribble to his left to commit his defender to the drive. Then, a fadeaway step-back jumper at the top of the key to win it.
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Only this time, Walker wasn’t at Madison Square Garden.
Wednesday night, Walker saved the Hornets’ re-introduction to the city of Charlotte by earning a win over the Bucks with the same type of shot he hit against Pitt in the Big East Tournament in 2011.
The road to the opening victory wasn’t easy. Milwaukee dominated most of the game, at one point stretching its lead to 24 points. The Bucks played solid defense, doubling Charlotte big man Al Jefferson all game, switching on screens and frustrating the Hornets' penetrators.
It was the first professional game for this year’s No. 2 overall draft pick, Jabari Parker, but the return to North Carolina for the Duke product was hardly the story line of the evening. The Bucks’ Khris Middleton had 17 points and Brandon Knight finished with 22. The one thing Charlotte was supposed to be good at straight out of the gate — defense — was perhaps its biggest flaw.
That, and the fact that it couldn’t shoot the ball to save its life.
Charlotte finished the game at just 40 percent from the field, and often settled for long two-point shots instead of attempts at the rim. It all but dismissed the 3-point line. The Hornets’ inability to shoot from deep is going to be a question mark all season and it was front-and-center in Game 1.
Walker, who agreed to a four-year $48 million extension Tuesday, was particularly puzzled by Milwaukee’s defensive game plan. Charlotte’s leading ball handler was a dreadful 9-of-26 from the field and clanged six of his 11 free throw attempts.
“I was just so anxious,” said Walker. “I couldn’t settle down. Every time I got to the line things were just going through my head.”
Walker wasn’t the only one champing at the bit. Dressed in teal and purple, fans in Charlotte came in droves to support their “new” squad, and the atmosphere was hyperactive. The air inside Time Warner Cable arena was buzzing all night, with every made shot followed by a thunderous cheer and every miss by a collectively disappointed “ahhhh.”
Eventually, the Hornets’ poor effort had the crowd turning to boos.
“I don’t blame them,” said Walker. ”We were terrible at that point.”
Charlotte slowly got back on track, finishing the game with a 32-point fourth quarter while limiting the Bucks to just 12 field-goal attempts. Even so, Walker had to play hero just to force overtime, hitting a running 3-pointer to tie the game with 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation.
The 24-point comeback was the largest in the history of professional basketball in Charlotte, and the mood was decidedly different heading into the extra period.
Charlotte involved Marvin Williams, rotating the ball around the arc for its power forward when the Bucks collapsed on Jefferson. The two teams played tight until the final 30 seconds of OT. With the game tied, 106-106, the Hornets corralled a Bucks missed shot and called a timeout.
“(Reserve guard) Jannero (Pargo) was next to me on the bench,” said Walker. ”He told me to stick with it, that my time was going to come.”
It did.
With 16 seconds left, and the ball in his hands yet again, Walker found himself in a place that was all too familiar.
Right side of the arc. Isolation. Hesitation. Step-back.